René Goupil, S.J. (15 May 1608 – 29 September 1642), was a

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

lay Lay may refer to: Places *Lay Range, a subrange of mountains in British Columbia, Canada *Lay, Loire, a French commune * Lay (river), France *Lay, Iran, a village * Lay, Kansas, United States, an unincorporated community People * Lay (surname) ...

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

(in French "donné", "given" or "one who offers himself") who became a

lay brother Lay brother is a largely extinct term referring to religious brothers, particularly in the Catholic Church, who focused upon manual service and secular matters, and were distinguished from choir monks or friars in that they did not pray in choir, ...

of the

Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

shortly before his death. He was the first of the eight

North American Martyrs The Canadian Martyrs, also known as the North American Martyrs ( French: ''Saints martyrs canadiens'', Holy Canadian Martyrs), were eight Jesuit missionaries from Sainte-Marie among the Hurons. They were ritually tortured and killed on various da ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

to receive the crown of martyrdom and the first canonized Catholic martyr in North America.

Life

Goupil was baptized in St-Martin-du-Bois, near

Angers Angers (, , ) is a city in western France, about southwest of Paris. It is the prefecture of the Maine-et-Loire department and was the capital of the province of Anjou until the French Revolution. The inhabitants of both the city and the pr ...

, in the ancient Province of

Anjou Anjou may refer to: Geography and titles France *County of Anjou, a historical county in France and predecessor of the Duchy of Anjou **Count of Anjou, title of nobility *Duchy of Anjou, a historical duchy and later a province of France **Duke ...

, on 15 May 1608, the son of Hippolite Goupil and Luce Provost. He was working as a

surgeon In modern medicine, a surgeon is a medical professional who performs surgery. Although there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon usually is also a licensed physician or received the same medical training as ...

Orléans Orléans (;"Orleans"
(US) and novitiate The novitiate, also called the noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a Christian ''novice'' (or ''prospective'') monastic, apostolic, or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether ...

of the

Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

(Jesuits) in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

on 16 March 1639. He had to leave the novitiate due to deafness.René Goupil
Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online.

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

/Université Laval. Retrieved 26 October 2011. Goupil volunteered to serve as a

missionary working to assist the Jesuit Fathers. In 1640 he arrived in

New France New France (french: Nouvelle-France) was the area colonized by France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Great Britain and Spa ...

. From 1640 to 1642, he served at the Saint-Joseph de Sillery Mission, near

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirte ...

, where he was charged with caring for the sick and wounded at the hospital. His work primarily involved wound dressings and bloodlettings. In 1642 Goupil traveled to the

Huron Huron may refer to: People * Wyandot people (or Wendat), indigenous to North America * Wyandot language, spoken by them * Huron-Wendat Nation, a Huron-Wendat First Nation with a community in Wendake, Quebec * Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawato ...

missions with about forty other persons, including several Huron chiefs and Jesuit Father

Isaac Jogues Isaac Jogues, S.J. (10 January 1607 – 18 October 1646) was a French missionary and martyr who traveled and worked among the Iroquois, Huron, and other Native populations in North America. He was the first European to name Lake George, c ...

. They were captured by the Mohawk, taken to their easternmost village of Ossernenon (about 9 miles west of present-day

Auriesville, New York Auriesville is a hamlet in the northeastern part of the Town of Glen in Montgomery County, New York, United States, along the south bank of the Mohawk River and west of Fort Hunter. It lies about forty miles west of Albany, the state capital. ...

),Dean R. SNOW, (1995) ''Mohawk Valley Archaeology: The Sites,'' University at Albany Institute for Archaeological Studies (First Edition); ''Occasional Papers Number 23,'' Matson Museum of Anthropology, The Pennsylvania State University (Second Edition). and tortured. After teaching a Mohawk boy the

sign of the cross Making the sign of the cross ( la, signum crucis), or blessing oneself or crossing oneself, is a ritual blessing made by members of some branches of Christianity. This blessing is made by the tracing of an upright cross or + across the body with ...

, Goupil was killed on the Feast of St. Michael the Archangel, 29 September 1642, by a blow to the head with a tomahawk. He died uttering the Holy Name of Jesus, as he had practiced in case of martyrdom. Fr. Jogues was present and gave Goupil absolution before expiring. Before being martyred, Goupil had professed

religious vows Religious vows are the public vows made by the members of religious communities pertaining to their conduct, practices, and views. In the Buddhism tradition, in particular within the Mahayana and Vajrayana tradition, many different kinds of re ...

as a Jesuit

before Fr. Jogues. Many of the 24 Huron accompanying Goupil were baptized Catholic converts. Traditional enemies of the Mohawk, they were slowly tortured per Iroquois ritual before being killed.

Veneration

Goupil is venerated as the first Jesuit martyr of Canada and one of three martyrs of the present United States territory. He was

canonized Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of s ...

on 29 June 1930 by

Pope Pius XI Pope Pius XI ( it, Pio XI), born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti (; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939), was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 to his death in February 1939. He was the first sovereign of Vatican City f ...

along with the seven other

Canadian Martyrs The Canadian Martyrs, also known as the North American Martyrs ( French: ''Saints martyrs canadiens'', Holy Canadian Martyrs), were eight Jesuit missionaries from Sainte-Marie among the Hurons. They were ritually tortured and killed on various da ...

or "North American Martyrs." He is the

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...

of anesthetists. At

Fordham University Fordham University () is a private Jesuit research university in New York City. Established in 1841 and named after the Fordham neighborhood of the Bronx in which its original campus is located, Fordham is the oldest Catholic and Jesuit un ...

's Rose Hill Campus in the Bronx, New York, a freshman

dormitory A dormitory (originated from the Latin word ''dormitorium'', often abbreviated to dorm) is a building primarily providing sleeping and residential quarters for large numbers of people such as boarding school, high school, college or universi ...

—Martyrs' Court—has three sections, which are named for the three US martyr-saints: René Goupil, Isaac Jogues, and Jean Lalande. Goupil is also honored at the Catholic youth camp

Camp Ondessonk Camp Ondessonk is a rustic, outdoor, Catholic youth camp run by the Belleville Diocese. It is located in the Shawnee National Forest of Southern Illinois, near Ozark, Illinois. The camp strives to remain a “last frontier” of sorts, where part ...

, where a unit is named after him.

References

External links

René Goupil
Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online. University of Toronto/Université Laval * {{DEFAULTSORT:Goupil, Rene Jesuit saints 1608 births 1642 deaths People from Maine-et-Loire French surgeons French Roman Catholic missionaries 17th-century French Jesuits Roman Catholic religious brothers Jesuit martyrs 17th-century Roman Catholic martyrs Canonizations by Pope Pius XI 17th-century Christian saints Canonized Roman Catholic religious brothers French Roman Catholic saints Jesuit missionaries in New France French people murdered abroad People murdered in New York (state) Male murder victims

Life

Veneration

See also

References

External links